Earthskills for our youth
Nature programs and camps in Mars Hill, NC
2025 Summer Camp Registration is Open!
Check out our schedule for summer 2025 and secure a spot for your child today! We have some fun past themes returning, as well as new camp themes. We’re excited to begin offering camps for ages 3-5 this year! We’re also continuing to offer camps for children ages 6-10, as well as craft classes for young people ages 11-16. We’ll be making baskets, hammering on steel, making our own art supplies from what we find in the forest and crawling through the creek. We can’t wait to see you there!
Corylace Cove is earthskills for our youth — in action! The children and teens practice forest skills, homesteading, and traditional crafts, like carving, earthenware pottery, felting, metal work, and more!
Situated in the Beech Glen neighborhood of Mars Hill, NC, just 30 minutes north of Asheville and 30 minutes west of Burnsville. Corylace Cove is named after the American Hazelnut, Corylus americana, which grows abundantly on on our beautiful, 100-acre school property.
Our programs are all outdoors, with a tarp space for shelter where we make a cozy fire when needed. All of our instructors have been trained in survival skills, and have decades of experience working in forest schools, wilderness programs, and earthskills gatherings. They know how to help children thrive and connect with nature even under harsh weather conditions! There is no such thing as “bad weather,” only a need for appropriate gear, a positive attitude, and a love for the outdoors.
“I never had a fireplace, even though I wanted one. Fire always mystified me and I wanted to learn, but there were no opportunities for that. We didn’t make them growing up, and in California where we lived for the last seven years, making fires isn’t needed, so it’s not common.
But Ellie knows. As soon as we moved to Asheville and she started forest school at Corylace Cove, she came home every week excitedly talking about making fires. And it just so happens that our home here has both an outdoor fire pit and an indoor fireplace.
After a year, she knows exactly what size sticks to gather, how to make sure they’re ready to burn, how to make her own tinder, and how to make a fire when it’s wet out. She knows what to do if the fire starts to get smothered, how to keep in burning, and tons more.
This sweet 7 year-old has taught ME how to make a fire. (And the song to sing while you make a fire, too.)
She went from timidly striking the match and being a little afraid of the flame last year to rushing home yesterday and making her own fire start to finish …and then waking up this morning and doing it all over again. Such confidence has grown!
I am so grateful for the very best mentors who can teach her (and me), Sara Henry and Grant Adkisson at Corylace Cove, things our heart really wanted to remember. These ancestral skills are inside of our bones.”
- Star Edwards, Hearth & Harvest Parent
“Imagine the wonder in your child’s heart as they play and learn, surrounded by trees, the cheerful melodies of spring songbirds, and the gentle rustle of leaves—far removed from the hum of screens. Picture the confidence radiating from their beaming smile as they proudly share creations made with their own two hands, born from skills that spark a lifelong love of making and exploring. Envision a program so rooted in growth and brimming with fun that the mere thought of a full day there fills them with the kind of excitement that inspires them to put their shoes on before you can even say, ‘Time to go!’ IYKYK! Our oldest had an unforgettable experience at Corylace Cove—she learned so much and came home each day with magic in her eyes.”
- Justin Godbey, Hearth & Harvest Parent
“Corylace Cove is a blessing. We are a holistic/nature loving family who are very grateful to have phenomenal guardians that are in service to children and Mama Earth. My youngest was reluctant to attend by himself because of trauma from a previous school and the lack of nurturing presence from teachers. Every day he attended, I picked him up and he was overjoyed with giggles. When his older brother was able to attend with him, they were giddy the entire hour drive home. Worth the drive. What’s more, they desired to return each week. I trust this incredible team of knowledgeable, experienced and loving professionals and we highly recommend attending.”
- Ashley Oros, Hearth & Harvest Parent
